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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. last — finally
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chest — a box
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stem — to come from
  11. spring — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. last — final
  17. rash — a series
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com